Budget 2018: 13,837 ideas and proposals from the public received

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said yesterday that 13,837 ideas and proposals were received through the Budget 2018 ‘crowdsourcing’ campaign carried out for 15 days from Sept 4 to 18.

The Prime Minister said a preliminary scrutiny found that jobs, cost of living, education, taxation, commerce and finance as well as transportation and infrastructure were among the hot topics raised and thus reflected the priority of the people today.

“I am glad that many people took the opportunity to share with me the challenges they were facing, besides offering suggestions for consideration in tabling the #Bajet2018,” Najib said in his entry in his official website yesterday.

He said all the suggestions had been noted down and would be seriously scrutinised for consideration by the government.

“This is an appropriate move towards democratising the process of drawing up the national budget, a document that would have a significant impact on the direction that the nation is heading for,” he added.

According to Najib, among the suggestions that attracted him was the one calling for the cleaning of the Klang River and developing it into a major waterway connecting the towns nearby as suggested by Mohd Saiful Ridzuan.

“There were also many people who praised the implementation of the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) and called on the government to develop an efficient public transport system in densely populated states to overcome the problems of traffic congestion.

“I understand that many people were also calling for tax exemptions to help in tackling the cost of living for the middle income group, tax exemptions for sports activities and tax exemptions for the maintenance of private vehicles,” he added.

Najib said he was also happy to read the suggestions from rural dwellers who expressed their desire to also be involved in the digital economy and hoped that opportunities to expand business via the digital economy were not only limited to the urban dwellers.

“Thus, I am confident the #Bajet2018 that is to be tabled will continue to assist the needy, and at the same time it is inclusive and holistic encompassing everyone’s needs,” he added.